To the Editor:
In May, you ran a story about a Jack Russell in Seneca Falls that had been left in a kitchen tied to a bucket with no food or water, covered in urine and feces, while the owners left town for six days. My husband and I have adopted the dog and we wanted you to know what a wonderful animal she is.

She is loving and smart and does not seem to have been too traumatized by what happened to her. It must have been terrible for her, and in six days, she could have died. She loves grass and acts like she had never seen grass before. Her favorite toy is a rubber chicken that squeaks. She learns commands very well. She was already housebroken. Her legs seem a bit weak when I take her for a walk, so we are going slow with that. She doesn’t bark often. She wasn’t fond of her first bath, but did OK. She is just a sweetheart.

We lost our beloved elderly dog, whom I had rescued 10 years before, on Aug. 3 and we decided he had passed on so another dog who needed us could come along. We adopted the little Jack Russell Aug. 10 from Beverly’s Animal Shelter in Waterloo. We named her Jacqueline. She has a forever home with us.

Sallie Sanpietro and
Peter Markwort
Waterloo

US should help its own people before others
To the Editor:
I have been very upset for a while. Why is the United States giving money or promising money, a lot of food, armed forces, etc., to foreign countries? We don’t have it to give. We borrow money from China and other places. A story Aug. 9 said we are giving Kenya $105 million, and not long ago Hillary Clinton promised another country $95 million.

What is wrong with this picture, people? Write or call all our representatives and the president. Why are they cutting our health insurance, schools, pay and benefits for our men who are serving our country in the military? It’s wrong.

More and more people are unemployed. Areas devastated by tornadoes and hurricanes are not getting the help they need. How come the United States of America is not helping its own people first? Now the government is taking from us — the poor and middle class people — to give it to foreign countries.

This is so very wrong. We should take care of our people at home first. The government and representatives should go without a paycheck for a few weeks to see how it feels. Let’s make a campaign to have our voices heard.

Cecilia A. LaPlante
Mattydale

Social Security benefits
must not be reduced
To the Editor:
The recommendation that Social Security benefits for retirees be cut back is criminal. These benefits were deducted from everyone’s pay during their employment. Their own money was entrusted to the government’s care until they were to collect it.

It would be the same as depositing one’s money in a bank, then when attempting to withdraw it later, have the bank say they used it, and nothing’s left (except enough to pay themselves).

Al Brooks
East Syracuse

Geddes families would
welcome YMCA there
To the Editor:
I read with interest the Aug. 16 article regarding the YMCA’s search for alternatives to the Radisson site and was pleased to see that Geddes was listed as a location they are considering. I, along with many of the young families in the town of Geddes, would be thrilled to have a YMCA close by. We are so jealous of our friends who live near the North Y or the East Y when they talk about the child care, children’s programs, swimming and the lengthy list of activities the Y offers in their area. We have nothing like that near us. We used to have Onondaga Community College for swimming lessons, but that is no longer an option.

To the board of directors of the YMCA: Please check out locations in Geddes. We would welcome you in our community and do everything we can to help gather all the families on the west side of Syracuse to support such an endeavor.

Here’s a thought: Why don’t you talk with the folks who run the Solvay-Geddes Community Youth Center and see if you can take that over and reinvigorate the place and offer swimming lessons, children’s classes and activities that everyone could enjoy?

Jill Richmond
Westvale

High electricity costs
hinder small business
To the Editor:
Regarding your Aug. 17 article about National Grid bills, why don’t you ever address the electric rate that small businesses are charged? The “business rate” is just one of the obstacles hindering the success of many of these small startup workplaces. The state government pays lip service to establishing and aiding them, but in reality, practically guarantees their failure by imposing or allowing a multitude of regulations and charges — not the least of which is a much higher electricity cost than a residential or large industrial customer.

There is no logical reason why any small business should pay a higher rate than a residential customer or for that matter, a higher rate then larger users. Reporting on this will not be an easy task, as full disclosure when the government is involved never is. Interviews with small business owners may well bring to light inequities in the rate system that people are unaware of.

It follows that any adjustment to the business rate will begin with the grassroots efforts of the small business community. Anything less than full disclosure of the present rating system will mean a change of the status quo that’s as likely as Osama bin Laden having been a disciple of Mary Baker Eddy.

Andrew Zahler
Lacona

Unemployment high, but
it was higher in 1932
To the Editor:
I share some of the concerns Lucille Povero raised in her Aug. 18 letter, but I am also concerned she writes as if she were offering facts instead of opinions. She says, as fact, that unemployment is at an all-time high; it clearly isn’t. Unemployment reached 25 percent in 1932, during the Great Depression. It now runs about 9 percent. She writes, as fact, that “almost no products are manufactured in the United States any more.” Not true. One website lists 14 car manufacturers in the United States, including Toyota, Honda, BMW and others. There is a long list of gun manufacturers on another site; General Dynamics and Honeywell are involved with Abrams tank manufacturing. While there is concern that manufacturing has dropped from 30 percent of GNP after World War II to about 11 percent today, much is still manufactured here. Look at AmericansWorking.com for the long list of such products.

As Povero says, there is justifiable concern with the Federal Reserve Bank that sets monetary policy for the United States. It is basically independent within government because its decisions do not have to be ratified by the president or anyone else in the executive or legislative branch of government. The system of checks and balances we pride ourselves on was given up with the creation of the Federal Reserve.

Still, Povero does her case no good by using untruths to make her case.

Jim Coufal
Cazenovia

Debt ceiling vote marks
day of infamy for US
To the Editor:
Aug. 2 will be remembered as a day of infamy in U.S. history. The GOP (Great Old Party) has become the Grand Obstructionist Party. John Boehner, the speaker of the House, tried to reach a compromise with Harry Reid and Barack Obama at the last minute, but was rebuffed (rebuked) by the ultra-conservative Republicans and the tea party. The GOP plan of Rep. Paul Ryan passed the House, but died in the Senate by the astonishing vote of 76 to 24. Vice President Joe Biden didn’t even have to cast his vote. Up to nine moderate Republicans sided with the Democrats to raise the debt ceiling.

President Obama promptly signed the new law, and Congress adjourned for the rest of the summer. During his two terms Ronald Reagan raised the debt ceiling 18 times and George W. Bush seven times.

Edgar Chapellier
Baldwinsville

All need to sacrifice
for the common good
To the Editor:
I sent this note to the representatives of South Miami, Fla., the last district in which I voted in a federal election, prior to the so-called resolution of the debt-deficit problems.

I do not wish to live in anyone’s dictatorship, even one that champions my most cherished ideas. Everyone contributed to our current problems. Everyone needs to contribute in order to achieve a resolution. Everyone must feel they and their colleagues have taken a portion of the pain.

We can build a future if our disappointments span the community. No one possesses the absolute truth. No right answer is without flaw or exception. When righteousness is despised, as it will be by the resentfully ignored, one is fearful to guess how deep that acid may burn. Please do not pour it.

I stand ready to give of my share in the interest of the common good. We all need to remember that we all drink from the same waters.

Timothy L. Johnson
Oswego

God card doesn’t belong in presidential campaign
To the Editor:
A presidential candidate playing the race card is viewed as sycophantic. I can only hope that the same rejection comes to politicians playing the God card.

The GOP has a whole field of potential presidential candidates playing the God card. The party has allowed itself to be overtaken and redefined by a small fundamentalist, right-wing, ultra-conservative Christian base whose adherents believe that they are “called by God” to force their beliefs on others. The GOP’s willingness to acquiesce to these radicals and to abort fair campaign financing, spread intolerance and subvert balanced governance is a direct and dangerous challenge to our democracy.

Right-wing evangelicals should not assume that all Christians share their venomous beliefs or want to see them enshrined in our nation’s laws and policies.

Kenzie Miller
Syracuse

Support great nation;
pay fair share of taxes
To the Editor:
As noted on “60 Minutes” Aug. 14, companies that claim their business center is in Switzerland pay zero tax even though they make all or the majority of their profits in the United States. I wonder what would happen if we all incorporated and bought a postal box in Switzerland so none of us would have to pay taxes?

I wonder who would pay for roads and bridges. Who would pay for the police and fire departments? Isn’t that kind of like shooting yourself in the foot? I wonder how long it would take corporations to realize that without paying taxes, all the things that they use won’t be paid for.

Personally, I think we all need to support this great nation and pay our fair share of taxes.

Christopher A. Braga
East Syracuse

Candidates must pledge
not to sign any pledges
To the Editor:
I will not vote for any candidate for office who is unwilling to sign my pledge:

To give credit where it is due, this thought was given to me by a friend, Rover Neithernorquist, a person known as one of the world’s foremost authorities on pledges and their effect on weak-kneed office holders and those seeking to be the same. Now, who the other three authorities on this subject are, I have no idea. Maybe they signed a pledge to never reveal themselves.

Joe Sammarco
Camillus

Rich and poor feed off America’s middle class
To the Editor:
Parasitic capitalism is rampant in America.

On one end of the spectrum, we have people who want to make as much as they can by doing nothing called welfare recipients. On the other, we have people, only a much higher class, doing the same thing. We, the middle class, are feeding these parasites disguised as capitalists.

Make no mistake: they are more alike than they seem.

Gary S. Tanner
Auburn

Gigantic shell game
lands on local entities
To the Editor:
Government is a gigantic shell game. The “shells” are the federal, state and local government.
The “pea” is services/taxes.

When the federal government cuts services, the pea moves from federal to state and ultimately to local government.